Sarah's POV:
I watched as Maitland moved to the center of the circle and two trolls looked up at him.
"Good evening, Master." They said. He smiled grimly and walked over to the fire.
"Same to you, minions. What is going on? Where are our troops?" One of the trolls stood up and said,
"We are ready to attack at your command. What holds you back?" Maitland growled.
"That human/fae Sarah. That rat who thinks he is my son married her before he left for war. If he hadn't then she would have been under my rule and a real son of mine would have been on that throne. But, no, he went and married her. And she has the gaul to dare to rule alone." He threw up his hands in aggravation.
I was in stunned silence. What was going on? What was he talking about. What struck me most was he statement about Jareth thinking he was Maitlands son. Wasn't he? If he wasn't then who was his father and who was Maitland in reality? I was getting very confused.
I took this chance to fly from my currant perch to a better one where I could hear better.
The leader troll said,
"Why don't you just kill the girl? She can't be that difficult?" Maitland growled again.
"Because, she has strong magic that one. She is a powerful Fae. The most powerful human/Fae in years. I can't just kill her. I would like to though. She also has a friend who I think it best to stay away from." I frowned and forced away all emotion and thought and tried to listen.
The troll leader said, "Why don't you let us kill her? It won't take long." Maitland shook his head.
"No, that won't do. She is for me to revenge myself. I must deal with her. It will be a way to get back for the death of my brother at Jareth's hands." The troll seemed confused.
"It was war, master. All is fair in war." Maitland shook his head.
"No, I shall avenge my brother. He shall not go down the grave not avenged." He stood up and for a moment his face changed to a sickly green color and looked to be the constancy of moldy cheese. It quickly changed back though.
I thought for a moment and was sure it had just been an illusion. But I somehow knew it wasn't. I drove it into the back of my mind and focused back on Maitland and the trolls.
They started talking about plans for attack and I listened as well as I could. I leaned forward to hear better and I fell from my perch and crashed to the ground.
"Great, Sarah, you are so brilliant!" I cursed myself and quickly took to the sky but the damage was done. The trolls fled on impulse and Maitland took off towards the camp. I flew fast and straight and easily beat him back to my tent. I flew to my bed and changed back into my human form.
Berry gave me a weird look and said,
"What's wrong?" I gasped for breath and managed to say,
"Maitland... traitor... trouble... liar..." I took a deep breath and relaxed into the bed. Berry gave me a weird look and said,
"Take a deep breath and tell me exactly what is wrong." I sighed and conjured myself a glass of water. I drank it all and said,
"I followed Maitland as you advised and saw him talking with to trolls. He is betraying us and they called him 'master'! And he also said he wasn't Jareth's real father! I don't understand." Berry gave me a strange look.
"Of course, Maitland is Jareth's father. He can't be anything but." I shook my head.
"He is something more." I didn't know what but I wanted to find out. Maybe that moldy cheese face had something to do with it. I sat up and said,
"I have to tell someone. I can't let him get away with it." Berry shook her head.
"I don't think that would be wise. I can understand what you are thinking but you shouldn't. Number one, they would just laugh at you for accusing the Fae King of treachery. Number two, he would be able to easily lie himself out of it. He may not be able to lie but he can twist words well enough to get out of it."
I sighed and relaxed back on my bed.
"Then what shall we do, Berry!" I slammed my hand into the cot. It did nothing but hurt my fist. Berry chuckled and said,
"Nothing for now. There is a way to track someone with a crystal ball. I believe I know how. I shall show you in the morning. It is late, Deary, and lets go to sleep. In the morning, we shall make plans." She laid down on her cot and I did the same.
This was going to be a restless night and I knew that so I made myself comfortable. Suddenly, I asked,
"What creature has a head that looks like moldy cheese?" Berry looked over at me and said,
"A Dullahan. Why?" My blood ran cold and I said,
"Can Fae pretend to be something else? Like a optical illusion?" I prayed that was all I had seen. Berry shook her head.
"No, not really. Fae are not good at illusions on themselves. Why do you ask?" I swallowed and said,
"Because Maitland's face changed for a moment into the face of a Dullahan." Berry's eyes went wide and she whispered,
"No, I thought those Dullahan were dead." I looked at her curiously.
"What Dullahan?" She gasped out.
"The ones that could shape shift. They were killed long ago I thought." My blood ran cold as I realized what had happened. This couldn't be. No, this had to be a horrible nightmare. Maitland couldn't be what I thought he was.
"Berry, Maitland is a shape-shifting Dullahan."
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Dying Breath (Labyrinth Fanfic) (UNEDITED VERSION)
Fanfiction*ALERT* THIS IS THE UNEDITED VERSION OF DYING BREATH *ALERT* The edited version has begun to be posted so if you wish to read those chapters, feel free too. The plot is the same but the writing is much better. SUMMARY: When Sarah falls sick unexpect...
